Thursday, April 24, 2008

Hiked up to the most severe fire damage area of the St. Mary's Wilderness fire located on Big Spy & Little Spy mountains. There are no marked trails in this area and the areas damaged most are on very steep and rocky slopes...

Shortly after the fire was declared out I made the hike to the St. Mary's Falls to check on damage and found that the river had prevented the fire from crossing over west of the river. Prior post shows the falls and areas near the river that were damaged.

During visits to the area I met the incident commander who told me of a distinctive pine tree "Table Mountain Pine - Pinus pungens" that only grows in this region and requires fire to heat the cones and release the seed...

I was able to locate the Table Mountain Pine near the top of the ridge in a very rocky area as described by the Incident Commander. I found numerous cones on the ground in many different degrees of damage and retrieved several samples for identification.

I took a ride down to Glenwood & Pedlar Ranger station near Natural Bridge for help in proper identification and additional information on the Table Mountain Pine species. I spoke with an individual I believe was the staff botanist who identified the samples as being from the Table Mountain Pine. He also advised me that there are several theories about how the fire provides opportunities for the species to propagate properly. One theory is that the fire heats the cone to release the seed. Another theory is that the fire needs to be intense enough to clear the ground clutter to allow proper conditions for the the seed to germinate...

White Pine (Pinus strobus) were also in the area but are not as hearty as the Table Mountain Pine and do not usually survive such a fire...

The above photo shows the amount of ground cover on the forest floor as shown by the area around the base of the tree that has burned. It was made up of numerouse layers of leaves and pine needles...

The Washington Times has an interesting article by Ed Feulner that describes the present state of the United States Navy aircraft carrier force and what we have to look forward to in the future.

"The rest of the ship is a marvel, too. It's like a floating city, one able to generate a virtually unlimited amount of power from its nuclear engines. It creates enough electricity to light 100,000 homes. It can purify 400,000 gallons of water daily. It carries enough food to feed its crew for three months at sea. In short, a carrier is a critical tool in our military arsenal, an irreplaceable asset that allows our military to project power anywhere, any time."

"During the 1980s, the Navy estimated it would require 15 carriers to keep the high seas secure. Today, though, our carrier force is dwindling. Last year Congress decided the U.S. could maintain only 11 carriers. Now, in another attempt to save money, the Navy says it can probably get by with just 10 carriers for awhile before it finally adds a new ship in 2015. Overall, today's Navy boasts only 280 deployable vessels."

"It's not as if other countries are standing still. China is building submarines at a frantic pace. By 2025, it could have five times as many subs in the Pacific as the U.S. There's no reason for China to become our enemy — but there's also no excuse for Congress to allow our Navy to be so outgunned, just in case the Chinese become aggressive."

"The Constitution gives lawmakers the power of the purse, so it's their responsibility to provide for the common defense. That means maintaining a powerful Navy. Lawmakers should insist the Navy keep 12 carriers in service."

Monday, April 21, 2008

KEY WEST -- Captain Scott Leon's Rock Star team lived up to its name, staging a remarkable comeback to win the $100,000 top prize at the World Sailfish Championship, which concluded Saturday in the Florida Keys.